


Double Trouble

by pansyparkinsonisgay



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Good Slytherins, Hogwarts Era, Past Angelina Johnson/Fred Weasley, Pureblood Politics (Harry Potter), Slytherin, Top Fred Weasley
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:55:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26413768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pansyparkinsonisgay/pseuds/pansyparkinsonisgay
Summary: Follow the adventures of Claire and Mae, two slytherins, messing around with the resident pranksters of Hogwarts. What happens when snakes and lions mix?
Relationships: Cho Chang/Cedric Diggory, Fred Weasley/Original Female Character(s), George Weasley/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 6





	1. Claire: The Hogwarts Express

I had always dreaded the day I would receive my letter. As a reluctant member of the sacred twenty-eight, I knew my reception at the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry would be mixed to say the least. So when my letter arrived and read, “Dear Miss Burke, I am pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,” I knew my day to face my family’s legacy had arrived. 

Nonetheless, I bought all of my school supplies and boarded the Hogwart’s Express. As the train departed from Platform 9 ¾, I began to look for a place to sit. I knew I could go sit with Draco and the other purebloods, but I honestly couldn't bear the thought of being in the same room as Crabbe and Goyle for the next three hours. I swore they gave purebloods the reputation of being inbred imbeciles. 

Walking down the train, I came across a compartment with only one other girl in it. She was small and pale with shoulder-length black hair. I quietly opened the door and peeked my head into the room.

“Is it okay if I join you here? Everywhere else is full.” I asked the girl.

She switched her brown eyes from the window to my face, smiling as she said, “Please. I was beginning to think I’d be alone with my thoughts for the rest of the trip.”

“Great!” I smiled as I took a seat across from her. “Name's Claire Burke.”

“Sorry, Burke as in Borgin and Burkes in Knockturn Alley?” she asked.

“The very same.”

“So you are a member of the Sacred Twenty-Eight then?” 

“I don’t share my social circle’s nonsense views on blood superiority if that's what you are asking. I honestly couldn’t give a shit about a witch or wizard’s blood status.”

“Well if that’s the case, I’m Mae Hughes.”

“Pleasure,” I said smiling. 

Suddenly, a loud BANG came from the hallway outside the compartment. 

“What the bloody hell was that?” I asked, moving to open the door. I walked out of the doors, Mae following behind, and into the hallway that was now filled with green smoke. 

“It looks like some sort of muggle smoke bomb,” Mae said as the smoke began to slowly dissipate.

I glanced back at Mae. “Who on earth would bring a muggle smoke thing onto the train?” I asked, “and why do muggles make things that explode smoke?”

“Because some people like to have fun,” a voice said from the green haze. 

I looked back to see a tall, lanky, red-headed boy in a chunky knit sweater walking towards Mae and I. Another boy roughly the same height and wearing a similar sweater followed behind him.

I waved some of the green smoke out of my face and glared at the first boy. “Well, you could have at least picked something that doesn’t give people a heart attack.”

“Ever heard of the element of surprise love?” he replied with a smirk on his face.

“Ever heard of the element of anticipation arsehole?” I spat back. “A proper prank plays with the target’s emotions. Make them look over their shoulder a few times before you attack.” The boy raised his eyebrows, surprised.

“I guess I know what house you’re being sorted into then,” he countered.

Before I could respond, Mae spoke. “Sorry, but was that a muggle device you used?”

The other boy spoke this time. “Yeah, Fred here nicked some off of some bloke in the local village,” he replied, nudging the shoulder of the boy now identified as Fred. The boys smirked at each other and then looked back to Mae and me.

“Bloody brilliant. The only thing that surprises wizards anymore is not using magic,” she responded smiling at the other boy.

I moved to grab my wand out of my jacket pocket.

“Woah, Woah, Woah, no need to pull that wand out now. It was just a harmless prank.”

I rolled my eyes, pointed my wand at the air, and said with a flick of my wrist, “Perpurigo.” Suddenly all of the smoke disappeared from the car. The boys looked back at me with raised eyebrows, while Mae just smiled.

“Here’s your first lesson about pulling off a proper prank, boys. Don't get caught.” 

Just as Fred was about to respond, the head boy barreled into the train car, coming to stand in front of the group. 

“I heard there was an explosion of some type. Did any of you see anything?”

Before the boys could say anything, I spoke. “We were just trying to figure that out for ourselves. Seems like the culprit moved to a different car while there was still smoke.”

“Godric Gryffindor,” the head boy said, turning to leave. “If you see anything, inform me immediately.”

“Of course,” I smiled and turned back to the group. “Now if you'll excuse us, gentlemen, Mae and I have to go change into our robes, and I suggest you do the same.” I grabbed Mae’s arm and began walking away, leaving the redheads in a state of confusion.


	2. Mae: Pop Its

Sitting on the train, I couldn't help but be filled with apprehension. My mother spoke of Hogwarts with such awe, but she was and still is one of the most gifted witches of her time. I had no idea if I would be able to live up to her name, or even just muster any magic at all. Being half-blood as far as I could tell (and I had done as much research as possible) wasn’t supposed to impact the strength of my magic. Still, I was worried. As I stared out the window, not seeing the Scottish countryside rush by, the door slid open.

A tall freckled girl with blue eyes smiled at me. She had brown hair and that was shaped into a bob with bangs. “Is it okay if I join you here? Everywhere else is full” she asked. 

Thank god. Someone to talk to. “Please. I was beginning to think I’d be alone with my thoughts for the rest of the trip.”

“Great!” The girl slide into the bench across from me “Name's Claire Burke.”

Now I had, of course, read every Wizarding book my mother had. “Sorry, Burke as in Borgin and Burkes in Knockturn Alley?”   
“The very same.”

“So you are a member of the Sacred Twenty-Eight then?” 

“I don’t share my social circle’s nonsense views on blood superiority if that's what you are asking. I honestly couldn’t give a shit about a witch or wizard’s blood status.”

“Well if that’s the case, I’m Mae Hughes.”

“Pleasure,” She said, smiling. 

The hallway suddenly erupted in noise. I almost thought it was a gunshot but then I remembered wizards don’t need guns. 

“What the bloody hell was that?” Claire exclaimed. She stood and opened the door, and I followed her into the hallway, which was rapidly filling with green smoke. 

As we looked around for the source of the sound and smoke, I thought about the firecrackers and pop its that went off all around London during the summer.

“It looks like some sort of muggle smoke bomb.” I mused aloud.

Claire looked perplexed. “Who on earth would bring a muggle smoke thing onto the train? And why do muggles make things that explode?”

I smiled. I couldn’t wait to introduce my new friend to all the weird things about muggle culture. Before I could ask if she knew about glitter, a voice emerged from the smoke in answer to her question. 

“Because some people like to have fun,” said a skinny redheaded boy in a thick sweater. Behind him stood almost the same sight, of a boy in a similar sweater with the same build and flame-red hair. 

Claire fired back at the boy while I contemplated the mechanics of setting off an odorless smoke in a narrow hallway. 

“Well, you could have at least picked something that doesn’t give people a heart attack.”

“Ever heard of the element of surprise love?” the first boy smirked a half-smile. But I looked at the second boy, whose expression remained relaxed. When he met my eyes, he gave me a look that was pure mischief. 

Claire was still arguing. I was really starting to like this girl.   
“Ever heard of the element of anticipation arsehole? A proper prank plays with the target’s emotions. Make them look over their shoulder a few times before you attack.” The boy seemed a bit taken aback but excited by this challenge. 

“I guess I know what house you’re being sorted into then,” he offered offhandedly.   
Finally, curiosity overtook me. “Sorry, but was that a muggle device you used?”

The second boy spoke this time, his voice slightly lower and slower than his brothers? They had to be at least brothers if not twins. “Yah, Fred here nicked some off of some bloke in the local village,” he replied and nudged the other boy, clearly Fred. 

The two gave each other what I was coming to notice as their trademark smirk. I was impressed with these two. Most wizards I’d gotten to speak to considered themselves so above muggle culture and technology, despite it having some uses and a lot of creativity. 

“Bloody brilliant. The only thing that surprises wizards anymore is not using magic.”I smiled at the second boy. 

Claire reached into her jacket pocket for her wand. 

“Woah, Woah, Woah, no need to pull that wand out now. It was just a harmless prank.” 

Fred held up his hands in mock surrender as Claire rolled her eyes and then, with a perfect flick of her wrist “Perpurigo.” 

The smoke disappeared and I decided that Claire was my friend. 

“Here’s your first lesson about pulling off a proper prank, boys. Don't get caught.” 

Fred opened his mouth for a retort, while the second boy gave me a smile and “what can you do” kind of shrug. The head boy barreled into the train car, coming to stand in front of the group. 

“I heard there was an explosion of some type. Did any of you see anything?”

Claire spoke up right away. “We were just trying to figure that out for ourselves. Seems like the culprit moved to a different car while there was still smoke.”

“Godric Gryffindor,” the head boy said, turning to leave. “If you see anything, inform me immediately.”

“Of course,” she gave the head boy such a facetious smile I thought she must know my father. Quite the politicians smile.   
“Now if you'll excuse us, gentlemen, Mae and I have to go change into our robes, and I suggest you do the same.” Claire grabbed my arm and we sauntered away from the boys, giggling.


	3. Claire

I found my time at Hogwarts to be much more enjoyable than expected. During the welcome feast, Mae and I had both been sorted in Slytherin, cementing our already budding friendship. We were certainly an odd pairing; me, a pureblood who hated my purity, and her, a half-blood in a house that believed her blood was dirty. However, our friendship worked so effortlessly, with my sharp tongue and her quick wit, nobody dared mess with us. 

Because of that the school mostly ignored us, sparing a glance or two during meals or in the hallways as we made our way to class. My last name granted us a reprieve amongst our housemates who left us to sit in the dark common room in relative peace. However, there were two people who consistently ruined our non-extraordinary existence.

Fred and George Weasley.

Since our first interaction with the twins on the Hogwarts Express, the troublemakers refused, well mostly Fred refused to admit defeat, attempting to pull prank after prank on Mae and me. 

It became a sort of tradition that at the start of every school year, the twins would attempt some elaborate prank on us. The arrival of Harry Potter and their youngest brother Ron had provided the twins with a temporary distraction from pranking us with the baby Gryffindors being easy targets, but they were soon back to their usual antics. 

During the start of the second year, they attempted to sneak their prototype Canary Creams into the sweets trolley, which was instead eaten by a poor first year. 

They tried again the next year, trying to hit us with a charm that produced a rainstorm that followed Mae and I around, however, they hadn’t expected us to bribe Crabbe and Goyle with a pumpkin pasty to switch compartments. Mae and I walked away completely dry while the resident dimwits of Slytherin left the train completely drenched.

Fourth-year, while Mae and I were buying sweets from the trolley, the twins had snuck into our compartment and tried to change the colors of our robes from slytherin green to gryffindor red. However, they did not expect the explosion of muggle glitter, courtesy of Mae, that had been charmed to stick to clothing. The twins were still finding glitter in their robes at the end of the term, something I never failed to point out as I saw them in the halls.

“Might want to check your shoulder there Fred, you’re practically glowing,” I said as I shot him a sly smirk. He frowned and looked down, spotting the green and silver glitter on his robes. 

“I am gonna get you back for this one day, Burke.”

“Like to see you try Weasley,” I shouted behind me, leaving the boy to try and dust off the muggle crafting supply. 

Mae snickered next to me. “You’re getting cocky Claire. One day he might actually pull something off.” 

I laughed. “That’s not happening anytime soon, trust me.”

It was practically impossible for the twins to get away with a prank when the intended recipient was Mae and I. It especially frustrated Fred who couldn’t understand how I stayed just one step ahead of him and his brother. 

“What d’you reckon it will be this year?” Mae asked me as the train left platform 9 ¾ at the start of our fifth year. 

“Who knows. A charm that makes our skin blue? Voice modifying candy? One day those two will figure out that they may come across as sly to the rest of the school but you can’t beat a slytherin at their own game,” I said with a smirk. 

As we approached Hogwarts, Mae and I became increasingly aware that the trip had been too quiet. There hadn’t been a single interaction with the twins and none of the wards on our belongings had been set off by some ill-thought-out prank. 

“What do you think they're waiting for?” Mae asked as we loaded ourselves into the carriages, looking for the twins. 

“No clue, but I’ll admit it's got me on edge.”


	4. Mae: Crossing the Line

The feast, usually a time for Claire and I to gossip about our classmates and watch out for pranks from the twins, was thrown into entire chaos by the announcement of the Triwizard Tournament. Murmurings among the Slytherins started immediately, all trying to figure out how they could enter if they could fool the age line and a few mumblings of Dark secrets and techniques for winning from that slimy little racist Draco Malfoy. 

“So, who do you think will get it?” Claire asked me as we scanned the room for older students. 

I rolled my eyes. “Prince Diggory, of course. He’s shiny and pretty and decent at charms. And far be it from this school to pick someone without pure blood to be a champion”

“You’re right of course. But you can’t talk about Diggory like that I know you think he’s good-looking”

“So do you!”

“Well, he is!” 

As we bicker, Dumbledore dismisses the students from the Great Hall. Funneling towards the entryway, we pass the Weasley twins, who look abnormally dejected.   
Claire, of course, has to taunt them. “What’s the matter, boys, prank fail spectacularly again?”

Fred can’t even shoot back a response. He opens his mouth but just closes it and sighs. George pats him on the shoulder, looking similarly distraught. Then I remember. 

“Quidditch is canceled, Claire. Let’s call a truce for tonight. Show them a measure of respect.”

George nods at me, then steers Fred along with the rest of the red and gold ties, towards the North Tower. Claire and I turn left down the corridor towards the dungeons.

“I can’t believe there’s no Quidditch this year. What are we going to do on the weekends? Who are we going to ogle if not Wood?”

Claire raises an eyebrow at me. “Didn’t you miss half the Quidditch matches last year to do schoolwork anyway?”

As I was about to retort, considering that she was right, I realized something was off. We’d been walking far too long, and yet we still had not reached the common room. Also, the hallway was empty. Claire noticed this at the same time and said as if it were a swear,   
“Weasley!”

I sighed. The prank war between us and the twins was starting to get a bit tiring. I enjoyed a good creative prank, demonstration of magic, or muggle sleight of hand as much or probably more than anyone else. But it was becoming a bit exhausting to look over my shoulder all the time. 

The never-ending hallway was new but still irritating. 

I extracted my wand from my robe, though there was nothing much that it appeared to be good for. I was unfamiliar with this charm, and there was nothing present to curse.   
Claire had her wand out too. 

I waved it halfheartedly.   
“Revelio!” Nothing happened. 

Claire tried next.   
“Finite incantatem!”  
Again. Nothing. 

“Well, that isn’t great,” Claire noted. “Isn’t finite incantatem supposed to remove spells?”

“So that means this isn’t a spell. At least...not one cast by a person.”

I looked down and realized my legs were still moving. I had absentmindedly still been walking alongside Claire, despite going nowhere. 

I reached out and grabbed her arm. 

“Stop.”

As soon as we stopped walking, we were standing at the door to the Slytherin common room, with a cluster of anxious first years coming down the hallway behind us. I smiled. 

“The never-ending hallway belongs to the castle. The twins just know how to move it. But it’s the castle telling us to pay attention. That might be useful later if we want to get them back.”

“Do you know the password?” piped up a small boy.  
Shit. 

“Cockatrice” echoed a voice down the chilly corridor. Blaise Zabini strode past the first years and through the open door without a glance. Claire and I followed. 

Lying my four-poster bed, the silver hangings open, and green velvet comforters mussed to my liking, I mused on the twins. 

They seemed unlike other Gryffindors to actually respect Claire and I. They’d shown that through their efforts to prank us and push themselves past their previous mischievous achievements. But I still felt that something else was happening with the four of us. 

Claire and Fred’s bickering had gone on for years uninterrupted. They teased each other in the hallways and in class. When he flew by her at Quidditch matches, he’d buzz by her and knock her with the tail of his broom. She would jeer back.   
There was a tension between them that had only built since that first day on the train.   
I sat bolt upright. 

Claire and Fred liked each other. They didn't realize it. But they did. 

Before I could figure out what this meant, a whisper broke the silence.   
“Mae! Are you awake?”

“Bitch why are you whispering? We’re the only people in this dormitory.” The only girls in a class of Slytherins. No wonder we’d gotten close. 

“I didn’t know if you were asleep. I care about your sleep dumbass”

“Well, I’m not. What’s up?”

“Who do you think we should take to the Yule Ball? Just because we can’t be champions doesn’t mean we can’t win the arm candy competition.” I giggled. Leave it to Claire to be thinking of the important things. “What? It’s never too early to think about it.” 

“No, you’re right. We’re going to look amazing, our dates had better be the perfect accessories.” 

We discussed the merits of Roger Davis versus Cedric Diggory versus Micheal Corner until Claire actually fell asleep.

But I lay awake. 

Claire and Fred. It was logical, the two of them. Their wit and melodrama made sense together. If they got together, I might finally be able to stop planning pranks, but I had to make them realize it. Two incredibly stubborn strong-willed people would not go out with each other simply because I told them they should. That might actually create more resistance. 

The last thought I remember before falling asleep was “I should tell George. ”


	5. Claire: Potions

“What do you think we will be doing today in potions?” Mae asked from across the breakfast table.  
I grabbed a piece of toast. “I heard that around this time of year the fifth years got to brew amortentia, but who knows with the stick that's up Snape’s ass if he’ll let us.”

“He is the head of Slytherin you know,” she quipped back.

“So? The dude is still a jerk even to us, and I seem to be the one Slytherin that isn't good at potions so he treats me like a puff.” 

Last year I had somehow managed to mess up a potion so badly that it bleached the front section of my hair platinum blonde. Fred jokingly called me Lady Malfoy after the incident which earned him a punch in the arm, but not before Snape sentenced me to a week of cleaning his potions closet. 

“At least you're good at defense against the dark arts.”

“Doesn’t help that half the school thinks I'm involved in the dark arts,” I said while nibbling on my toast.

“Oh shut it. You don't need to prove yourself any more than you already have. Now let's get to potions so we don't give Snape another reason to hate you.”

Mae and I grabbed our sacks and made our way down the hallway towards the dungeons. As we were walking, we made eye contact with a group of Durmstrang boys that had just finished one of their classes. We smiled as we walked past, picking up the speed so we would be out of earshot.

“They aren’t half bad if we need dates to the Yule Ball,” Mae offered.

“I think we are being influenced by those uniforms. I think it is impossible for anybody to look bad in that get-up.”

“You're right but let's not rule them out completely."

I laughed and we walked into the Potions classroom, grabbing our usual table in the back corner. 

Snape made his way to the front of the room, glaring at Mae and me as he walked by. “What did I do this time?” I mouthed to her. She just shrugged.

“Today we will be brewing a very powerful love potion. Can anybody tell me the name of the said potion?”

Mae’s hand shot up and she waved it around a bit.

“Miss Hughes.”

“Amortentia, sir.”

“Correct. When brewed correctly, amortentia will smell like the things that attract you the most. Now I want you and your partners to brew a batch and at the end you must discuss what it smells like to you.”

Mae made her way to the potions closet to grab the ingredients needed while I opened up your textbook to prepare your station. Snape walked by again.

“Try not to make your potion explode this time, Miss Burke.

“I will try my best sir,” through gritted teeth. At that moment, Mae returned with the ingredients and we got to work on brewing the potion. 

After two hours of intense concentration and a few near misses, the amortentia was ready. Mae and I eyed the pearlescent pink potion curiously, wondering what we were about to experience. 

“What do you think it will smell like?” Mae asked as she placed the potion in the vial. 

“I honestly have no idea. I can only hope it is nothing like when the Slytherin quidditch players come into the dungeons after practice. God, it's rank.”

Mae laughed. “Do you want to go first?”

“No, go ahead. I’m curious about you.”

She held the vial up to her nose and inhaled the scent of the potion. Her body visibly relaxed as she tried to make out all the different parts of it. 

“It’s like fall in a bottle. It is really lovely.”

“Congrats on being attracted to a season there Mae,” I laughed as she glared at me. 

She shoved the vial in front of my face. “You try it then.” 

I rolled my eyes and then took a deep inhale from the vial. The scent of cedar and smoke hit me immediately. It was almost overwhelming until other notes of cloves and honey made their way to the front. I felt warm, the scent was just so comfortable. 

“Well?” 

“Cedar, smoke, cloves, and honey. In that order.”

“Well guess who is also attracted to a season now then,” she smirked. 

“Oh shut it.”


	6. Mae: I Love it When a Plan Takes Shape

The Gryffindors and Slytherins jockeyed for position as we always did, leaving the dungeon. Though this time there was much more chatter and speculation following the results of the Amortentia. 

I found myself lost in thought. My potion had smelled like fall. Like pine, and pumpkin, and the air after rain. With a note of something a bit acrid that I couldn’t place. Even just the scent of the potion made me feel safe and seen and oddly powerful…

Claire had been silent too. We shared a look and raised our eyebrows. 

“Wow, right?” I asked. She shook her head. 

“I don’t think I’m ever going to find love. No one makes me feel like that.”   
I leaned my head on her shoulder. 

“Yeah because the people here are dumb. There’s a whole wide world out there with people that could make you feel that way.”

Or maybe there was one of those people in the castle right now. I glanced over at the Weasley twins, who were not lost in thought, but rather focused on bewitching quills to write “mummy’s boy” on Marcus Flint’s back. 

George met my eyes. He winked. I pulled out my wand, pointed it at the writing, and whispered “colovaria”.

It turned bright pink. 

Both twins now turned to me, banishing the quills with a flick of their wands. “Cheers!”   
I gave them a nod and followed Claire towards the greenhouses for herbology as the Gryffindors climbed the stairs to charms. 

\----

The next morning I groggily assembled a piece of toast and marmalade. Claire, similarly exhausted from our marathon study session writing Amortentia essays for potions, reached weakly for the teakettle. 

The owls swooped in to deliver the mail and Claire sighed, leaning her head on my shoulder. “Are they always that loud?”  
I thought I could muster the energy for an answer when a school owl with a tiny scroll in its claws landed on my plate, kicking aside my knife, spilling marmalade on the table, and generally upsetting everyone in my immediate vicinity. 

Claire swatted me weakly on the arm. “Oi. Make your mum get a quieter owl.” She laid a napkin on the table, folded her arms, and laid down. 

I quickly unfurled the scroll only to find it wasn’t from my mum. It had an untidy scrawl that I didn’t recognize. 

“We need to talk. Astronomy tower. Tonight. Midnight. Don’t tell Claire.

-George” 

\----

I spent the rest of the day in a haze. What could George want? Why did he need to talk to me? We’d really only interacted in passing as part of our prank war. Was he going to warn me about some new prank? But why would he warn me he’d be part of the prank, wouldn’t he? 

I laid in my bed with my eyes wide open, wondering what could possibly await me atop the astronomy tower, until my wand glowed softly on my bedside table. It was 11:45.   
I crawled out of bed, thankful for Claire’s tendency to sleep with earplugs in. 

I put on a little green t-shirt, some yoga pants (muggle clothes for the win!), and a cloak. I tied my hair up, put up my hood, grabbed my wand, and snuck out of the dormitory. I quickly cast a disillusionment charm on myself and held my breath as I came down the stairs. Thankfully the common room was empty. That was the first hurdle. 

As I prowled carefully through the castle, I felt my heartbeat speed up, and not just because of the potential to get caught. I had no idea what George needed to talk about, but a clandestine meeting without either of our best friends meant something very serious. Also, if I could be honest with myself, a midnight date under the stars with one of the hottest students in the school was an idea that had occurred to me before. 

To be fair, it was usually Oliver Wood or Angelina Johnson, but Gryffindor Quidditch players were my type.

I reached the top of the stairs, took a deep breath, mussed my hair a little, and opened the door.


End file.
